


pleasantly cold

by tellmewhatyousee



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Universe, Doctor Marco, Fluff, M/M, Massage, Physical Intimacy, flustered Ace, medically-necessary massage, rated for language and some implications but not much else, why isn't 'physical intimacy' a recognized tag i live for that shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25519489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellmewhatyousee/pseuds/tellmewhatyousee
Summary: “You know, you should really bring a cot up there if you’re going to sleep on the job, Ace.”Ace falls asleep on night watch and wakes up with some back pain. Marco has just the thing to help.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace
Comments: 14
Kudos: 125





	pleasantly cold

**Author's Note:**

> i recently saw the flashbacks of ace joining the whitebeard pirates and i have a lot of feelings about them. please enjoy my pointless fluff that may or may not continue into something else later on.

Ace was indescribably happy to be a part of Whitebeard’s crew. He had a _family_ now, a massive crew of brothers and sisters who wanted nothing but the best for him. Sure, it took a while for him to warm up to them, but he got there eventually. Now, he felt more welcome and loved than he had in his entire life.

Still, it was a little overwhelming.

Ace was by no means an introvert, so the parties to celebrate his joining the crew were more than welcome. He had a lot of fun getting to know his new family, hearing ridiculous tales of their past adventures, never quite able to tell what was real and what wasn’t. They were certainly a lively bunch, and of the hundreds of people Ace met over the past week, he hadn’t yet met someone he didn’t like.

It was a lot to take in at once, really. All the excitement made it harder for Ace to fall asleep at night, to the point where he hadn’t gotten a full night’s sleep since his first day on the ship. Instead, he slept in bursts, sometimes faceplanting on his plate during meals, occasionally leaning too far over the side of the ship so someone had to dive into the ocean after him. At the very least, his body was making sure he got _some_ amount of sleep, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

Since he wasn’t sleeping much at night, anyway, Ace started taking the later shifts on night watch. It surprised him how quickly they were to trust him with a responsibility like that, considering his last attempt at Whitebeard’s life had been only about a week prior. He was never the only person on guard, since someone was always stationed at each of the surrounding ships. If Ace majorly fucked something up, or suddenly decided he still wanted to kill Whitebeard, someone would definitely be around to catch him in the act. Plus, he seemed to be developing a habit of dozing off in the crow’s nest, so that was probably for the best.

One morning, he awoke in a particularly strange position, curled up against the mast with his back bent at an almost painful angle. He groaned as he straightened out his posture, and winced at the pain that shot up his spine. That certainly wasn’t a good sign, was it?

As he climbed down to the deck, he mentally chastised himself for letting such a thing happen— he was supposed to be keeping watch for the protection of the crew, and not only had he fallen asleep, but he also managed to hurt himself in the process. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get much done when he could barely move without pain, but he had high hopes that some breakfast would help him feel better.

The dining hall was full of the usual banter, Ace’s crewmates teasing him about his tendency to fall asleep at a moment’s notice, claiming he’d sleep through a fully-fledged attack if it happened on his watch. Ace laughed along with them, of course, but he couldn’t help worrying. He knew the news of his impromptu nap would get back to Pops, if it hadn’t already, and he probably wouldn’t be allowed to take that shift anymore.

His crewmates’ banter was enough to keep him distracted from that train of thought for a while, but as the dining hall emptied out, Ace found his thoughts returning to the incessant ache in his back. It was getting to a point where he could barely stand. Thankfully, all he had to do was manage the walk back to his bed, where he could nap in peace until the problem went away on its own. Despite the pain, he jogged down the long hallway towards the sleeping quarters, eager to get into a horizontal position.

He was not expecting to jog straight into one of his crewmates.

A pair of hands grabbed Ace by his shoulders, saving him from stumbling back and hitting the floor. It was only when Ace regained his balance that the hands let him go, and he looked up to see Marco staring down at him. Even though Ace had nearly just run him down, Marco still had that relaxed smile on his face that seemed to be his default expression.

“Oh, uh, hey. Sorry about that,” Ace said with a sheepish smile, stepping back to put some distance between himself and the commander. The movement caused another jolt of pain up his spine, and he swallowed down a grunt that threatened to give him away.

“No worries,” Marco said, eyeing Ace carefully. He raised an eyebrow before he asked, “What’s the rush?”

“...Uh.” Ace paused. He hadn’t had the foresight to think of a lie, should anyone catch him making a beeline for his room. But, really, how could he have expected someone to be wandering around there?

“You look like you’re in pain,” Marco added, and Ace realized he’d taken too long to answer the commander’s question. “Are you hurt?”

Ace gulped. There was no way he was getting out of this undetected, not with Marco’s critical eye on him. “Not… _hurt_ hurt, no,” Ace answered quickly. He didn’t want Marco to think he was actually _injured,_ after all. “Just fell asleep kinda weird. Was thinking I could take a nap and sleep it off, so… I’m gonna go do that.”

He sidestepped Marco with a little wave, hoping the interaction was over so he could finally lie down. Of course, he had no such luck, as a hand in front of his chest blocked his path. He looked up to see that Marco was still staring down at him, his smile almost threatening.

“You know, you should really bring a cot up there if you’re going to sleep on the job, Ace,” he said, and Ace tensed up. Maybe Pops himself hadn’t caught Ace dozing off on watch, but his First Division Commander had, and that seemed just as worse.

“Listen, I— I’m really sorry,” Ace stuttered, hands fidgeting by his sides. That was it, he thought, he’d fucked up so early on that they were going to throw him overboard— for real this time, without rescuing him. “I was tired, and I fucked up. But… but it won’t happen again, Commander, I—”

“Where does it hurt?”

Ace’s rambling came to a screeching halt as Marco dropped his hand. “Huh?”

“You’re in enough pain that you’re running blindly down a dimly-lit hallway just to lie down,” Marco said, “So what hurts?”

Ace blinked. He didn’t realize how tense his shoulders were until he relaxed them, though even that slight movement made the pain worse. “Oh, uh. It’s my back,” he answered. “Just woke up in a weird position this morning, that’s all.” He shrugged and walked past Marco, hoping he was finally free from that embarrassing interaction. Marco seemed to have other plans, however, as Ace soon heard footsteps following behind him.

“Have you experienced this pain the other nights you’ve fallen asleep in the crow’s nest?” Marco asked, and Ace tensed up again. He _knew?_

“No,” Ace answered, glancing over his shoulder. “Last night was probably the longest I’ve been asleep up there, so.”

“And is it a sharp pain, or more of a dull ache?”

Ace let out a huff as he spun around to face Marco fully, though he immediately regretted that with the pain that shot up his back. “I said I’ll be fine, alright?” he snapped. “What are you, a doctor?”

“Yeah, actually,” Marco answered, crossing his arms. Despite Ace’s little outburst, he seemed calm as ever. His smile suddenly looked a lot less threatening. “I’m trying to help you, if you’ll let me.”

“...Oh.” What the hell was a _doctor_ doing as a division commander? Wasn’t he busy enough as is? “It’s… it’s just an ache when I’m not moving. But then it’s sharp if I do move.”

Marco hummed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Then, he turned on his heel and gestured down the hall. “Come with me.”

Ace glanced back towards his room as Marco started walking away. He’d been so _close,_ so close to being able to lie down and ease his pain. “Can’t I just go to bed?” he asked. “Walking hurts like hell.”

Marco stopped walking when he realized Ace wasn’t following after him, and turned back around to face him. “I was going to take you to the infirmary,” he said, “But if you’re comfortable with me treating you in your room, I don’t see why not.”

Ace didn’t know what Marco had planned, but he found it hard to care at the moment. The mere idea of taking a walk to the infirmary, encountering nosy crewmates along the way, was exhausting in itself.

As soon as they entered the room, Ace headed right for his bed, thankful he’d taken the bottom bunk and didn’t have to do any climbing. As eager as he was, he sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, and reclined backwards. He let out a soft sigh of relief once the strain on his back was gone, though the ache remained.

“Alright,” Ace said, lowering his gaze to see Marco standing by the bed. “What have you got for me?”

“Well, I can’t do much for you if I can’t see your back,” Marco said, eyebrows raised. “You’re going to have to flip over.”

Ace sighed. He wanted to move as little as possible— though, the thought of being bent over, face down on his bed in front of Marco was a lot to take in, so he’d have to do some repositioning. He grunted softly with the effort, but managed to sit up with his back facing Marco. He dropped his shirt and glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Marco pulling a chair up to the side of the bed. 

“Is it alright if I touch you?” Marco asked as he sat down, and Ace nodded a little quicker than he would have cared to admit. Now that he wasn’t so distracted by the pain that came with standing up, he was actually able to process the situation he’d found himself in— Marco, First Division Commander, had him half-naked in a bedroom and was about to have his hands all over his skin.

Ace was beginning to understand why Marco had suggested the infirmary.

He jumped a little when Marco first touched his back, but hoped it would pass as a reaction to the pain and nothing else. Once he adjusted to the touch, he found that Marco’s hands were pleasantly cool on his skin, almost enough to distract him from the pain altogether.

“Is the pain centered around any specific area?” Marco asked, his fingers gently prodding around Ace’s skin. Ace opened his mouth to answer, but only let out a little _mmph_ noise when Marco found a particularly tender spot on his shoulder. “Ah. There?”

“It’s, uh, around my lower back, too,” Ace mumbled, dipping his head down in the hopes of concealing the blush that was steadily creeping across his cheeks. “Near my spine.”

Marco only hummed in response before he reached down to find the place Ace was referring to. When he pressed down in the precise spot where it hurt most, Ace hissed, flinching away from the touch. Marco mumbled an apology, but as he continued his examination of Ace’s back, Ace couldn’t help but wish he’d lingered there a little longer.

“You don’t seem to have seriously injured yourself,” Marco said after some time, his hands leaving Ace’s back. Ace had to stop himself from leaning back to follow the touch. “It’s pretty likely you just strained some muscles. It’ll probably pass with time, like you said, but a massage of sorts might help speed up the process.”

Ace’s eyes widened, and he hoped Marco didn’t notice the way his back tensed up. “Okay,” he said, once again responding a bit too quickly for his liking.

“Okay,” Marco echoed. “Would you like me to take care of that, then?”

Ace glanced over his shoulder. “Oh. Yeah, I... if you don’t mind,” he said with a little embarrassed laugh. He couldn’t think of anyone else on the ship who would be willing to do that for him— plus, he really didn’t need another person seeing him in such a state.

“Sure, I don’t mind at all,” Marco said, offering a warm smile. “I doubt any of our crewmates are capable of being gentle enough for such a thing, anyways.”

Ace turned his head to face front again, and forced himself to laugh. “Yeah, probably not,” he said, shoving down the urge to point out that he wouldn’t _want_ anyone else, anyway.

“Would you lie down on your stomach, then?”

Ace did as he was asked, keeping his face angled away from Marco all the while. He wasn’t sure _why_ he was getting so flustered— Marco was just a doctor helping a crewmate in need, after all. The idea of a medically-necessary massage shouldn’t be making him so nervous. Yet here he was.

He felt weight shifting on the mattress, and in a brief moment of panic, he thought Marco was going to straddle him. But, no, he simply knelt beside Ace in an entirely professional manner, and rested his hands on Ace’s back once more.

“Tell me if anything hurts too much, and I’ll stop,” Marco said. “Okay?”

All Ace could do was nod and close his eyes. If he could just stop _thinking,_ and _relax,_ he—

A low groan passed through his lips when Marco started kneading his shoulder, and his eyes snapped open. He fully expected Marco to be horrified, but the doctor only chuckled.

“Was that a good or bad sound?” he asked, letting up on the pressure slightly.

Ace let out a little huff. No, it definitely wasn’t _bad._ It wasn’t entirely comfortable, sure, but it did give him some sense of relief. “It’s… good,” Ace managed after a moment.

“Good,” Marco replied, and got right back to it.

Ace breathed in a little gasp as the pressure increased again, and bit down on his tongue in an attempt to suppress any more sounds. Marco was really working the muscle there, and while it hurt like hell, that didn’t stop Ace from leaning into the touch. He really had to concentrate to suppress a whine when Marco decreased the pressure again, instead rubbing gentle circles around the sore muscle.

“Jeez, kid, you’re tense,” Marco mumbled, just loud enough for Ace to hear. He moved to Ace’s other shoulder, and while that side didn’t hurt nearly as much, the touch still made him sigh. “This is supposed to be relaxing, you know?”

“Kinda hard to relax when it feels like I’m being stabbed,” Ace muttered, though his reactions betrayed his words as he arched his back against the mattress.

Marco stilled his hands then, just letting them rest on Ace’s back. “I told you to say something if it hurts too much,” he said. “Are you alright?”

Ace shook his head. “Oh, no, I’m good,” he said, “It’s like… a good pain, I dunno.”

He could have sworn he heard another chuckle from above as Marco started rubbing his good shoulder again. “It’ll probably hurt lessif you relax your body,” Marco said. “Just close your eyes and breathe, it’s okay.”

Ace sighed, but listened nonetheless. He let his eyes close again and hid his face in his arms, hoping that would be enough to muffle any more questionable sounds he might make. As Marco’s hands moved close to the middle of his back, he must have switched up his technique or something, because it felt _different._ His hands seemed colder, almost, but it wasn’t the type of cold that would make Ace shiver and shy away. It was a soothing type, one that made him sigh in relief. Marco wasn’t even touching the parts of his back that hurt most, but Ace could feel the muscles relaxing beneath the doctor’s touch.

Within a few minutes, he was practically melting into the mattress, his mind blank. And when Marco finally reached his lower back, where the worst of the pain was, Ace _moaned._

It took him a second to process that the sound had actually come out of him, but once he did, he tensed up all over again. He couldn’t bring himself to look back at Marco, who faltered for only a moment before he kept moving. At that point, Ace was having a hard time concentrating enough to be properly embarrassed.

“Is that any better?” Marco asked, and all Ace could do was nod in reply as he felt his body relaxing once again. “Good.”

If Ace didn’t know any better, he’d think Marco was using some sort of magic on his back. They weren’t anywhere near the infirmary, so it wasn’t like he was using any sort of cream or salve to treat Ace. How could he make someone feel so much better with just his _hands?_

It was only when Marco moved back up towards his shoulders that Ace could form a coherent thought again, and realized Marco was still speaking to him. “Huh?” he asked.

Marco chuckled. “I was just telling you, what I said to you last week… I meant it in the literal sense,” he repeated. “About wearing Whitebeard’s mark on your back. I think that would be a good place for it.”

Ace shifted against the mattress. Admittedly, he hadn’t really thought about the placement. He knew he _wanted_ the tattoo, of course, and he was planning on asking his crewmates about it soon. But he hadn’t considered the fact that he’d have to pick a place for it beforehand.

“I’ll… consider that,” Ace finally replied. He didn’t care much for shirts, anyway, and he didn’t really see himself wanting to cover the mark in the future. “Why’d you get yours on your chest?” he asked, “Didn’t that hurt a lot more?”

“I wanted it front and center, easy to display,” Marco answered, and Ace could hear the smile in his voice. “Plus, I’ve… got a pretty high pain tolerance. It wasn’t too bad.”

Before Ace could think too much about that, Marco was kneading his shoulder again, and a groan slipped past his lips before any coherent response could. The topic was quickly forgotten, since there was no way Ace would be able to hold up his end of the conversation while Marco was working him like that.

Gradually, the balance between pain and pleasure shifted more towards the latter. The aches in his back were long forgotten, and Ace found himself getting more and more comfortable.

Comfortable enough, in fact, that he found himself drifting off to sleep.

Some time later, Ace woke up more relaxed than he’d been in months— _years,_ even. Though, when he glanced to the side and saw Marco sitting beside his bed, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Marco didn’t even flinch as he glanced up from the book in his lap. He was sitting in the chair again, his feet propped up on the nightstand. “You alright?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

Ace nodded quickly, and pushed himself to sit up. It was a little difficult, considering his entire body felt like jelly, but he managed. “Yeah, yeah. Just… wasn’t expecting you to be right there,” he said with a sheepish little laugh.

Marco laughed as well, a soft sound that Ace hadn't been expecting. “Sorry about that,” he said as he closed his book. “You dozed off while I was working on you, I wanted to make sure you didn’t end up in another uncomfortable sleeping position.”

“Oh.” Ace glanced back at the pillow that had been underneath his head when he woke up. That definitely wasn’t there before. And he’d been on his back, not his stomach, which meant Marco had moved him. “Uh, thank you,” Ace added, “But you don't have to worry about me. I pretty much sleep like a brick, anyway.”

Another laugh. “Yeah, I noticed that,” he said, then stood up from his seat. “How’s your back?”

“Better,” Ace answered immediately, trying to push away any thoughts of Marco handling him in his sleep. How _embarrassing._ “A lot better, actually. Thanks.”

“Of course, it’s no problem.” The corners of Marco’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “No more night watch for now, okay? And I’m going to ask the others to move you somewhere more comfortable if they catch you sleeping, if that’s alright with you.”

Ace raised his eyebrows. “Oh, uh… yeah, I guess,” he said, despite how humiliating that sounded. Marco’s consideration for him overshadowed that by a long shot, and that smile of his was awfully distracting, so Ace couldn’t really bring himself to argue.

Though… he wouldn’t necessarily mind another night of awkward sleeping positions if it meant he could experience all _that_ again.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr [@tellmewhatyouC](https://tellmewhatyouc.tumblr.com/) if you'd like see me yell about my writing endeavors, or even just say hello!


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